"I begin my work by thinking in color and then sort of evolving from there. I layer a lot. It`s a whole journey."

Anjum Singh inherited painting from both her parents and pursues it like a vocation. "When I started out as a student at Santiniketan, I was heavily influenced by Amrita Sher-Gill. I was, therefore, drawn towards a lot of figurative motifs. My sheer feel for colour and texture has led me to explore forms ...
Read More"I begin my work by thinking in color and then sort of evolving from there. I layer a lot. It`s a whole journey."

Anjum Singh inherited painting from both her parents and pursues it like a vocation. "When I started out as a student at Santiniketan, I was heavily influenced by Amrita Sher-Gill. I was, therefore, drawn towards a lot of figurative motifs. My sheer feel for colour and texture has led me to explore forms that don`t tell a story, but exist for the sake of existence. I am not certain about the future of the figurative element in my work, but I do know that I wish to paint the simplicity of space, with or without form."

Trained at Santiniketan, Rabindranath Tagore`s art school in West Bengal, Anjum Singh`s paintings are a manifestation of her fascination with bright reds, oranges, yellows and pinks that are seen to dominate her canvasses, with an occasional stroke of gold or brown.

So abiding is her fascination for colours that she first decides on the colors she will use for a particular painting, and take it from there. She usually restricts herself to pure colours finding the adding of black or white contaminating.

They say that artists have method in their madness. The opposite is true of Anjum. While her state of mind does spill over, she is a disciplined painter who paints each day till she decides that the work has acquired a finality.

Not bound by any one interpretation her forms and figures are diffused and can be seen at various levels. In several of her paintings, she has used the brush and the knife to create a layered effect for the desired texture.

Daughter of artists Arpita and Paramjit Singh, Anjum says her style has been influenced by that of her mother from whom she has " imbibed a little bit of my mother`s ideas and forms."

Her initial training at Santiniketan made sure that she was formally well-equipped to paint. This foundation was further solidified at Delhi University where she completed her Masters degree in Fine Arts, before going on to the Corcoran School of Art, Washington DC, in 1992 to learn painting and printmaking. It was in America that she became more open to experimentation and developed her own signature style.

"You know the work I produced before my stay in United States, during my Masters here in Delhi, seems in retrospect, very stiff. In the States there was this availability of material you saw in museums. It was the first time I was out of India and things you had seen in books, were suddenly there in front of you. Then there was this American culture, this entire informality."

When Anjum returned to India, she simplified the texture she used in her works, just using flat structures. In her work it is the surface, the texture and the application of paint that is very important.

She stresses, "It is very important to know your limitations. My problem is with color. I am very comfortable using red and I know if something is not working, I can use red to make it work. I consciously restrict my palette sometimes, because that sense of adventure tends to fade away if you are overconfident."

Certain lots have been marked with the sign
.
These Lots are not situated in India and therefore, may only be purchased in USD.
Persons residing in India, wishing to bid in USD must be eligible under the various
foreign exchange regulations to make payments overseas. Please sign the
declaration and fax it back to Saffronart at (91 22) 24321187. Please contact
Saffronart for further details.

Certain lots have been marked with the sign
.
These Lots are not situated in India and therefore, may only be purchased in USD.
Persons residing in India, wishing to bid in USD must be eligible under the various
foreign exchange regulations to make payments overseas. Please sign the
declaration and fax it back to Saffronart at (91 22) 24321187. Please contact
Saffronart for further details.

Certain lots have been marked with the sign
.
These Lots are not situated in India and therefore, may only be purchased in USD.
Persons residing in India, wishing to bid in USD must be eligible under the various
foreign exchange regulations to make payments overseas. Please sign the
declaration and fax it back to Saffronart at (91 22) 24321187. Please contact
Saffronart for further details.

Certain lots have been marked with the sign
.
These Lots are not situated in India and therefore, may only be purchased in USD.
Persons residing in India, wishing to bid in USD must be eligible under the various
foreign exchange regulations to make payments overseas. Please sign the
declaration and fax it back to Saffronart at (91 22) 24321187. Please contact
Saffronart for further details.

Certain lots have been marked with the sign
.
These Lots are not situated in India and therefore, may only be purchased in USD.
Persons residing in India, wishing to bid in USD must be eligible under the various
foreign exchange regulations to make payments overseas. Please sign the
declaration and fax it back to Saffronart at (91 22) 24321187. Please contact
Saffronart for further details.

Certain lots have been marked with the sign
.
These Lots are not situated in India and therefore, may only be purchased in USD.
Persons residing in India, wishing to bid in USD must be eligible under the various
foreign exchange regulations to make payments overseas. Please sign the
declaration and fax it back to Saffronart at (91 22) 24321187. Please contact
Saffronart for further details.

Certain lots have been marked with the sign
.
These Lots are not situated in India and therefore, may only be purchased in USD.
Persons residing in India, wishing to bid in USD must be eligible under the various
foreign exchange regulations to make payments overseas. Please sign the
declaration and fax it back to Saffronart at (91 22) 24321187. Please contact
Saffronart for further details.

Certain lots have been marked with the sign
.
These Lots are not situated in India and therefore, may only be purchased in USD.
Persons residing in India, wishing to bid in USD must be eligible under the various
foreign exchange regulations to make payments overseas. Please sign the
declaration and fax it back to Saffronart at (91 22) 24321187. Please contact
Saffronart for further details.

Certain lots have been marked with the sign
.
These Lots are not situated in India and therefore, may only be purchased in USD.
Persons residing in India, wishing to bid in USD must be eligible under the various
foreign exchange regulations to make payments overseas. Please sign the
declaration and fax it back to Saffronart at (91 22) 24321187. Please contact
Saffronart for further details.

Certain lots have been marked with the sign
.
These Lots are not situated in India and therefore, may only be purchased in USD.
Persons residing in India, wishing to bid in USD must be eligible under the various
foreign exchange regulations to make payments overseas. Please sign the
declaration and fax it back to Saffronart at (91 22) 24321187. Please contact
Saffronart for further details.

Certain lots have been marked with the sign
.
These Lots are not situated in India and therefore, may only be purchased in USD.
Persons residing in India, wishing to bid in USD must be eligible under the various
foreign exchange regulations to make payments overseas. Please sign the
declaration and fax it back to Saffronart at (91 22) 24321187. Please contact
Saffronart for further details.

Certain lots have been marked with the sign
.
These Lots are not situated in India and therefore, may only be purchased in USD.
Persons residing in India, wishing to bid in USD must be eligible under the various
foreign exchange regulations to make payments overseas. Please sign the
declaration and fax it back to Saffronart at (91 22) 24321187. Please contact
Saffronart for further details.